Update

Yes we are alive!

In this update I thought I would thank all those who have continued to retain an interest. Thank you.

Crafting and creating is a passion all man kind shares and even though some of us (most of us) feel like we have no time we also share wasted wishes whilst watching others be creative; there's no shame in this...I was doing it last night. Just know that Nate and I  are as committed to delving into the distraction that is ever present in our minds as we ever were, yet ultimately we fall victim to the humbling reality's of family life.

While a life threatening fall has distracted Nate, and my wife's failing health has distracted me, we still ague over sculpting style, materials, and design...we always agree but some how ague while agreeing? Brothers...

Stay posted as changes are in the works.

THANK YOU!!!

Hero Challenge Finals!

August challenge finals!

Here they are ma' NYM Peep's! The finals are in for the hero challenge. 

Aaron's challenge was a sorcerer air faerie of light

Aaron painted his Sylph with acrylics then added the card aspects in Microsoft paint. 

Nate's Challenge was a Steam Mech Fire Dwarf of light

Nate sculpted his entry using oil based clay and a wire armature. 

Here is our honorable mention entry by Andy Norton!

Andy Norton's challenge. an Un-dead fire wizard of darkness

Thanks to all (Andy) who joined in with us with this challenge. keep your eyes out for more about Kingdom on our Facebook page.


And here are Nate's and Andy's finals turned into hero cards for the game.

August challenge: HEROES!

An early Hero Card

About 6 years ago I started working on a game my kids could use to help them learn how to role play. As it developed, it adopted a trading card feel and then changed again into a table top game with mini figurines. I realized this game could be played in any way I chose. I could play it by my self as a card game, or as a table top game. I could play it in teams or against other opponents as a card game or as a table top or both. I could make it as complicated as I wanted or as simplified, the fact was it was the most versatile card game I had ever seen, and/or researched. I called the game "Kingdom: The Trading card RPG" because the game becomes your kingdom, played how you want.

I took the game into an agent who was interested in producing it for sell but he wanted to see a more developed version, I set to work creating cards and printed several demo copy's and gave it to people to play (one copy went to Nate, his son got so into it that when his hero died he had a melt down so epic that he was banned from playing it ever again) I took the game back into the agent, and he was gone...moved, and his number didn't work. 

An early foe card, (an autonomous enemy you can
fight against in a solitaire battle)

Life happened, and the game got put  away and to a large extent, out of sight and mind. I worked on it in now and then, playing with different rules, adding new dimensions to the way the cards interact with each other, but for the most part of the last few years the game has been forgotten. 

Until now.

I found my original demo decks and a large note book of concepts art and ideas and an idea formed for this month challenge.

Hero challenge

Here's how it works. In  My Trading card RPG you become the hero with special cards called Hero cards (designed with your Heroes image, class, and ability's). You fight other heroes, (or autonomous Foes and villains) by equipping your hero with weapons and spells, and items from your deck of "advantage cards"

One of Nate's maps while demoing the game

The challenge this month is to design a Hero for the game, based on the luck of the dice. Six Hero classes, Six different races, and Six elements. with the extra alignment of Light or Dark. 

Class  In the game, your heroes are part of a class, and you can only use advantage cards of that class. you can cross classes only when you get a card that allows it but for the sake of the challenge let start with the basics...

1-Warrior- they fight with might and muscle and steel

2-Wizard - they draw power out of elements and absorb it, then release it to the victims demise.  The cost? slowly becoming the element they draw from. 

3-Beast master- summoners of beasts and monsters to do their fighting

Nates other map

4-Demon- not of this world, yet trapped here and deadly 

5-Magic- they draw power out of elements and direct it into objects and items, brew potions. and summon demons to do their dirty work

6-Steam Mech- the power of steam and deadly ingenuity

Race I think this speaks for its self but remember that not all "magical creatures" are actually magical. 

1-Human

2-Elves

Maps I made

3-Dwarf

4- Fairy

5- Demigod

6- Un-dead 

Elements your hero need not be made from these elements, but have the element built into their design.

1-Fire

Examples of advantage cards from my first rule book

2-Water

3-Earth

4-Metal

5-Wind

6- Stone

Alignment Not all creatures of the night are bad, nor are creatures of the day good. Yet what is your Hero's alignment?

Odd rolls are of the Light

Even rolls are of the Darkness

My demo Decks and Dice

A Hero card my daughter made when she was 10

My original hand drawn advantage cards I played with (while at work) as I first developed the rules.

Hungry Girraffe Waiting At a Bus Stop

July Challenge Final


So I figured my Giraffe would do what I would do when im waiting at a bus stop in the city. Mow on some doughnuts. heres some closer shots of it up close after I finished it, with out the photoshop.

 If you look at the picture on you left, You can see the coat hanger I used for the armature above my thumb.

Mmmm Doughnut!

This is the picture I took then photoshopped out the back ground and added a doughnut, cause the one I did, didn't show up in the picture very well.

So that's it! Now, I wonder what Aaron's got cooked up for this months challenge?

Aarons July Challenge Final

Wow this was a tough challenge. As a reminder In this animal challenge as posed by Andy Norton, I rolled the dice and landed on an art project consisting of a whale in the city sleeping. A whale in the city wasn't to much of a problem but a sleeping one? Whales sleep nose up.

Real sleeping whales

And What looks like sleep to us is actual dead or dying...

shhh....its...sleeping...

But I finally figured it out. Here is a city ally I etched into a plate of CX5s

If you zoom in you will find that some spots are not really finished, that's because I planned to cover a lot of it up with the whale. which I sculpted separately  and added later.

HERE IS MY FINAL: WHALE SLEEPING IN ALLY

My three year ols snapped this shot while I was finishing my etching

Three minute glass painting.

Here is a guy to paints out side the Malaga Cathedral in Spain. He completes his works of art in three minutes!

May Challenge final - FAIL!!!!!

No Wind!!!

No freaking wind!!!

I can't believe there was no wind! Its my fault really; I chose to do this challenge while I was caught up with the fever of kite flying in April. I thought "Hey, everyone should be doing this!!! LETS MAKE KITES!" and then May found Nate in full blown storms, complete with snow; and I was in the doldrums of heat and strokes. 

Nate finally said "I'M DOING IT!" and took his kites out into the storm and they broke, his box kite spun around and around in the wind then crashed. I said "I'M DOING THIS" and stood out in the heat of the sun and hoped a heat current would pick up the kite but the glue and the tape melted and the sticks just fell out...

A lot of people told us what a great idea this challenge was but nobody else completed it either, this got me thinking; what do our fans, followers and friends want to do? Now Nate and I have a new ongoing challenge to find out what challenges would inspire you, or what would you  like to see us do. With that being said this Kite challenge didn't fail, it taught us something about our goals and how to move forward with the site.

My new challenge for you, who watch us here or on the you tube channel, or face book, comment and let us know what you want to see and we will do our best to make those wishes come true.

 I'm not done with this Kite challenge, its fail was only due to timing. next year it will be epic!

 note to self: plan your challenges appropriate to the criteria necessary to successfully complete said challenge.